In 1956, the film 'Bedari' was screened in Pakistani cinemas. It achieved enormous success, filling all halls. This film, directed by Rafiq Rizvi and starring Ragini and Santosh Kumar, became a blockbuster thanks to its songs, especially the song 'Ao Bachcho Seir Karen Tumko' performed by Salim Razi. The song became extremely popular among children across Pakistan.
However, the film was soon banned. Some viewers felt a strange sensation, as if they had seen this film before, and discovered that not only the plot but also the melodies of the songs were familiar to them. It soon turned out that 'Bedari' was an exact copy of the Indian film 'Jagriti', released in 1954, and 'Jagriti' itself was a remake of the Bengali film 'Parivartan'.
The most interesting connection in this story relates to Ratan Kumar. His real name was Syed Nazir Ali Rizvi, and he was considered a popular child actor in the Bombay film industry. Born in 1941, he began performing at the age of just five. Family friends and writer Krishna Chander gave him the role of a child actor in the film 'Rakh'. After this, Ratan Kumar worked in several famous films, such as 'Boot Polish' and 'Baiju Bawra', before getting the role of Shakti in Satyen Bose's film 'Jagriti'.
When 'Jagriti' was released in 1954, Ratan Kumar was about 13 years old. Two years later, in 1956, he moved to Pakistan with his family. Many relatives of his family had already settled in Pakistan after the partition. Limited job opportunities in India also contributed to the family's decision to move to Pakistan.
After arriving in Pakistan, Ratan Kumar's elder brother, Wazir Ali Rizvi, founded a production company called 'Hayat'. The first film of this company was 'Bedari', and it was here that the story took an unexpected turn. The film 'Jagriti', in which Ratan Kumar himself acted, was recreated in Pakistan under a new title and in a new context.
'Bedari' featured Ratan Kumar in two roles. He played Ajay, whose name was changed to Jaffar in the Pakistani film. Furthermore, the character Shakti from 'Jagriti' was renamed Sabar Ali. Notably, despite the change in names, the essence of the characters was preserved: both Ajay and Jaffar mean 'victory' in Hindi and Urdu, respectively.
However, the similarity between the two films was not limited to the plot and characters. The most striking similarity was in the songs. In 'Bedari', the original melodies and harmonies were largely retained, but the lyrics were altered. Instead of Indian nationalist references, Pakistani nationalist motifs were added.
For instance, the famous song from 'Jagriti' sounded like: 'Ao Bachcho Tumhen Dikhaen Janki Hindustan Ki'. In 'Bedari', this song was changed to 'Ao Bachcho Seir Karen Tumko Pakistan Ki'. Similarly, where the original featured 'Vande Mataram', 'Bedari' used 'Pakistan Zindabad'.
Another song from 'Jagriti' contained the lines: 'De Di Hme Azadi Bina Kadg Bina Dhaal, Sabarmati Ke Sant Tune Kar Diya Kamal'. In 'Bedari', these lines were replaced with 'De Di Hme Azadi Ki Duniya Hui Haran, Ai Kaide-Azm Tera Ehsan Ha Ehsan'. Thus, instead of Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah appeared.
This process was not limited to a couple of songs; in many songs of the film, the original melodies were preserved while the lyrics were changed, replacing the Indian context with a Pakistani one. How was the truth about 'Bedari' revealed?
Initially, the similarity between the two films might have gone unnoticed because there was a ban on the public screening of Indian films in Pakistan at the time. Consequently, most of the Pakistani audience could not see 'Jagriti'. Later, a member of the Pakistani censorship board informed Donna about this situation, noting that Lahore filmmakers created 'Bedari' in 1956, which was a carbon copy of 'Jagriti' in terms of plot and songs, utilizing the ban on the import and public screening of Indian films.
Initially, 'Bedari' enjoyed great commercial success in cinemas. However, after some time, viewers began to realize its true nature, understanding that the film they were watching bore a resemblance to a previously existing Indian film in terms of plot and melodies. Following this, protests against its public screening began, and the situation escalated to the point where the Pakistani censorship board immediately banned 'Bedari' and restricted the screening of its songs.
Did this affect Ratan Kumar's career? For a long time, there have been speculations that after moving to Pakistan, Ratan Kumar sought to establish himself in the local film industry, and perhaps that is why he participated in creating a film similar to 'Jagriti' in a new form. Nevertheless, Ratan Kumar, being a very popular child actor, could not achieve the same level of success as a leading adult actor.